Leadership Skill; A Necessity or a Benefit? by Will

Leadership Skill; A Necessity or a Benefit? by Will - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

William E. Dunn III

Leadership Essay

College Scholarship Opportunity

March 7, 2015

Leadership Skills; A Necessity or a Benefit?

I believe that having leadership skills is a necessity for success in a college atmosphere. Students now a days have so many advantages, which students even ten years ago didn’t have. Technology obviously being the biggest benefit students now a days have access to. A case can be made for both options, whether leadership skills are just a benefit or a necessity, but if a student is going into a field, which requires the person to be in a leadership role, then I believe the argument can clearly be made that these skills are a necessity.

I believe that both as a person, and a student I would consider myself a leader, and I also believe these skills have contributed to my success as a student. Being a leader has many different faces, and though there is one clear definition for what a leader is, there are also many different ways in which a leader can lead. A leader can lead by example, or by skills. In my experiences as a college student I have put my leadership abilities to good use several times, and in many different ways. I have taken a back seat to another student who clearly wanted to lead the group, but in the end this student wasn’t able to lead the group, control the group, or set tasks for the group. At times like this, I have basically taken over as the group leader, but not in way that made the other student feel ashamed, or like they failed at being the group leader. Having the ability to lead in this situation set the rest of my group up for success, as well as not degrading, or creating a bad relationship with the other group member. I was able to complete my portions of the project, and review the other group member’s portions, while offering suggestions and advice to all of my group members. I did these things by making it seem like I was struggling with my portion of the project, and asking the other group members if they were willing to meet with me. We could discuss the areas of the project I was struggling with, as well as bounce ideas off from each other. This allowed all the members of the group to communicate, and exchange ideas in a way that was beneficial to every member of the group. I felt if I would have singled out the original leader, and told that person I wasn’t comfortable with the way they were handling things it would have been detrimental to the success of the group overall.

Basically having leadership skills as a college student is in my opinion one of the most important traits a college student can exhibit. Having the ability to both delegate tasks in a fair way, as well as taking on a larger role in a project are both examples of being a leader. These skills allow for the student to be both organized and successful. I believe without this skill set, my college career would not be near as successful as it has been. Also, a great leader needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of him or herself, as well as the group members. Having the skills of a leader will more then likely allow for a college student to be organized, knowledgeable, and oriented/driven. These traits, which leaders exhibit, are undoubtedly all skills that a successful college student must have. In that regard I believe there is no debate that having the skills of a leader are necessary, and will translate to a successful college career. To often our society wants to put one label or definition on what a leader is, but as I have mentioned before, a leader can come in many different shapes and sizes. Leaders need to understand both themselves as a person, as well as the group dynamics. Sometimes leaders have to be willing to take a step back, and let others step up, and take the credit for what was done. A true leader is capable of identifying when this is a requirement, and is skilled enough to make this transition seem like it was not their idea, but the rest of the group’s idea. In this aspect, a true leader is capable of instilling or building confidence in the people they are working with, while the rest of the people have no idea it was the leader who was doing it. This gives these other people a great deal of confidence, which they didn’t know they had before, an builds up the rest of the group members ability to lead as well. A true leader must be selfless, and must truly think of others before himself, and when it’s necessary not take credit for what was accomplished, but transfer that credit to the rest of the group members.